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STOCKTON - It wasn't long ago that Kyle Sasai was in the same shoes as the eighth-grade students at risk of dropping out of high school today.

Jennie Rodriguez-Moore

STOCKTON - It wasn't long ago that Kyle Sasai was in the same shoes as the eighth-grade students at risk of dropping out of high school today.

"I made mistakes in high school," Sasai, 19, told a group of teens. He hung around his East Bay peers who were on a path of self-destruction, using drugs and getting into trouble.

Fast-forward and Sasai has risen above the influence, now a University of the Pacific junior and committed to helping other teens make the right choices and become college-bound.

On Wednesday, Sasai, along with 11 other Pacific students, went to August School in east Stockton to start mentorships with soon-to-be high schoolers as part of his HopeStreet Backpack Outreach, a program Sasai founded in 2011.

The middle school students received backpacks for starters. But the most valuable gift is perhaps the mentors themselves.

They'll be responsible for giving the August students advice throughout their upcoming high school careers about peer pressure, homework and even how to ask a girl to prom.

Sasai offered the younger students Pacific campus tours when they're ready and provided his contact information. "I want you guys to ask me anything," he said.

The ongoing contact is a much appreciated resource at August, which has a largely disadvantaged student population, said Principal Lori Risso. All of the children receive free or reduced-price lunches.

"A lot of the kids think they can't afford to go to college," Risso said. The Pacific volunteers, she said, can relate to the kids and encourage them to seek scholarships and other financial aid.

"It makes the vision of going to high school and college possible."

David Barajas, 13, learned he had common interests with his new mentor, Andrew Bose, a 19-year-old college sophomore who majors in mechanical engineering.

"I want to be an engineer," Barajas said, adding that Bose advised him to get out of his comfort zone to make friends.

"I actually really liked it, because it helped me have more courage to go to high school," he said.

Sasai, a political science major, founded the program his first year of college. Since then, he has gathered volunteers to fill backpacks, write the kids letters and train for the continuing interaction.

Pacific mentors are each assigned about five students to befriend and help guide.

With the students they reached this year, they have connected with 500 middle school students since 2011.